One thing I often find I have in common with the winemakers I come into contact with is an affinity for art—be it literary, historic, fine, or—dare I even say—performance art. Indeed, I know one of the things that draws me to study wine is that to understand it, one must simultaneously utilize the scientific and creative sides of the brain, for wine is not solely one or the other. No, it straddles the border of fact and fiction, data and mythos, what one can experience tangibly and those feelings that cannot be put into words. Winemakers, passionate winemakers, understand this and work everyday to iterate that through the liquid in the bottle.
“I fell in love with the word “voluptuary” when I first discovered it many years ago.” says winemaker Lawrence Brooks. “The literal definition is ‘a person devoted to luxury and sensual pleasure.’ To me, being in Nature is luxurious. The lovely scent of jasmine is a profound luxury.”
Brooks has a wine industry resumé that includes work on some of the most well-known wineries and wine brands; he also teaches at Cal Poly and Fresno State. I’ve not had the pleasure of meeting or interviewing him (yet), but when I received the press release announcing his new website, I had to take a look. Talented in the cellar, he certainly is—and I dare say his writing both teaches and entertains, is scholarly and creative. What better topic to prove the artistic-science/scientific-art that is wine than with a discussion of terroir?
The full press release with links below. You can see his first full post here. I, personally, am looking forward to many more.
